Scaffolding on ‘The Makepeace House’ above Havelet Bay has been removed, offering a first glimpse at a very different house to the one it replaced.
The private home on the Strand was designed by renowned Dorset-based furniture designer John Makepeace. He has been working alongside local architects Lovell Ozanne on the bespoke and experimental project.
Lovell Ozanne director Andrew Merrett said he had received lots of positive comments since the scaffolding came down.
‘I think its sits very nicely on that skyline,’ he said. ‘The clients are over the moon with how it looks and have been enthralled by the whole process. It has been fantastically rewarding to be involved with – it’s really not a building, but a piece of art.’
Mr Merrett said that Mr Makepeace, who is known as the ‘father of British furniture design’, had been involved throughout the design process, from the initial drawings and throughout the development.
‘The house had overtones of Gaudi’s buildings in Barcelona but without the outside embellishment as Makepeace wanted to keep it clean,’ he said.
Mr Makepeace has said his aim as a designer was ‘to create more eloquent concepts for furniture’, giving priority to human needs and aspirations.
Mr Merrett said that the build had proved challenging not just because of the unusual design but also its location.
‘The Strand has a weight limit of two tonnes so that means no cranes or even a concrete mixer there,’ he said.
‘Everything has had to be brought up by hand almost from Havelet. The developers Infinity have done an amazing job.
‘Everything about the building is totally bespoke, the shape is out of the ordinary and forming the teardrop windows has been a significant challenge.’
Permission to demolish and rebuild a new home on the site of La Coquere was granted in 2022.
Located within a conservation area, Mr Merrett said the initial design was the sort of thing he was worried might have been turned down by the planners.
‘But we built a good argument and planning was supportive,’ he said. ‘It is designed by a world renowned furniture designer and you have other buildings such as the Victor Hugo House nearby, but also if you look at the Strand from the sea, there are rectangular structures to one side and the building marks the spot where the designs change, and the house almost marks the elbow of that change.’
With the outside of the building nearing completion, the construction team is now working on the interior and hope to be finished work completely by the middle of this year.